Cirrus@Austlit

'Left on the doorstep of St Anthony’s Catholic Orphanage in Bolton, Northern England, Anne Marie O’Shea is placed in the guiding hands of another orphan named Bella Jones. As the years pass by, Bella accepts her lot for what it is; Annie dreams of a wonderful life, that special bit of magic that everybody deserves. When Bella is killed in a road accident at the age of twenty, Annie is left to fend for herself, to make decisions about her future and combat all the fears she has about forming lasting relationships. With numerous ups and downs, nurse training and emigration to Australia, a series of unbelievable co-incidences eventually puts the magic in her life that she could previously only dream about.'  (Publication summary)

'Rodi Bartlett sits on a plane taking her to the land of her conception. She can’t call it the land of her birth because when her mother was sixteen years old, she had flown back to England from Corfu at the end of two weeks in the sun, unaware she was pregnant. When her mother, Adele dies young, details of the father, Cory Demetriou are exposed in her will and he has never been told of his daughter’s existence.

'Rodi’s relentless search for the father she has never known, takes her to Corfu, mainland Greece and beyond. Filled with determination, setbacks, hope and love, this is the story of a young woman's quest to fulfil her mother's dying wish, but will Cory Demetriou accept her as his daughter twenty-six years on?' (Publication summary)

'For three children left without a mother in the middle of World War Two, survival was all they could hope for. Their father struggled as a single parent, but instilled into his children, determination, ambition and self-respect so that they might succeed in post-war years and achieve everything which he was denied during his life.

'This is their story.' (Publication summary)

'Jane O’Connell did not envisage that her early retirement would completely disrupt her life. With too much time on her hands, she finds it difficult to adjust to her new existence. In her obstinate selfishness, she alienates herself from her family and friends. Running away from all things familiar appears to be her only option, but is it? Will the connections she makes really solve the problems she encounters in her life after work?' (Publisher's blurb)

'Show business executive Kimberley Mason always felt something was missing from her life. She forms an association with a theatrical agency in Australia and uncovers a secret kept by her parents for thirty years. Revelations about her birth shatter her world. Discovering her real father is Australian television celebrity Joel Winston, she cuts herself off from the family she had always thought to be perfect.

'Leaving behind her past in England, she moves to Australia to be with the man she loves, her business partner, Simon Obertelli. Will running away ensure her future happiness or will the complications of accepting her famous father only lead to heartache?' (Publisher's blurb)

'Marriage, a new home and a new baby, Joel Thomas, all make up a perfect life for Nell Winston until suddenly her husband is no longer there and she turns into a woman possessed of compulsion to rule her son. Her strength is drawn from her unwavering sense to control until the young Joel decides to make a stand against her. Her domineering, self-absorption, along with egotistical stubbornness, takes her into a life that becomes her worst nightmare.

'Joel’s apparently selfish show of independence leads him along an extremely rocky road to eventual success in the Swinging 60’s and with a complete reversal of roles, he takes charge of his mother’s life. Will the new start in a different country bring the fulfilment they are both seeking?' (Publisher's blurb)